Infants and children are the often-ignored heroes when it comes to understanding human evolution. Evolutionary pressures acted upon the young of our ancestors more powerfully than on adults, and changes over the course of development in our ancestors were primarily responsible for the species and the people we have become. This book takes an evolutionary developmental perspective, emphasizing that developmental plasticity--the ability to change our physical and psychological selves early in life--is the creative force in evolution, with natural selection serving as a filter, eliminating novel developmental outcomes that did not benefit survival. This book is about becoming--of becoming human and of becoming mature adults. Bjorklund asks, "How can an understanding of human development help us better understand human evolution?" Then, turning the relation between evolution and development on its head, Bjorklund demonstrates how an understanding of our species' evolution can help us better understand current development and how to better rear successful and emotionally healthy children.

About the Author
David F. Bjorklund is Professor of Psychology at Florida Atlantic University where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in developmental and evolutionary psychology. He previously served as Associate Editor of Child Development and is currently serving as Editor of the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. His books include The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology (with Anthony Pellegrini); Origins of the Social Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and Child Development (edited with Bruce Ellis); Why Youth is Not Wasted on the Young: Immaturity in Human Development; Child and Adolescent Development: An Integrative Approach (with Carlos Hernandez Blasi); Psychology (with Peter Gray), and Children's Thinking: Cognitive Development and Individual Differences, now in its sixth edition. His current research interests include children's cognitive development and evolutionary developmental psychology.

Reviews
A joyful read * Farid Pazhoohi, Evolutionary Psychological Science *
a major theoretical and integrative contribution that can and should be read by any serious student of this subject. * Melvin Konner, Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture *
This work is an exceptionally appropriate textbook for courses in evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, and evolutionary philosophy. * R. F. White, CHOICE *
How Children Invented Humanity is a very clear, easy, and interesting read. I not only highly recommend this to the students and researchers of psychological, biological, and anthropological sciences, but this book is also valuable to parents and to-be-parents to understand and learn how early developmental years shape and affect all aspects of their children's childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Additionally, this is a well-referenced book on evolutionary developmental psychology and biology, providing a great review of the literature, covering lots of experiments and studies, combined with Bjorklund's deep understanding of evolutionary biology and great sense of narration. This is a joyful read! * Farid Pazhoohi, Evolutionary Psychological Science *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190066864
Author David F. Bjorklund
Format Hardback
Page Count 392
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 680g
Dimensions(mm) 157mm * 239mm * 38mm